Unimpressed by '96 Flock, Some Voters Are in No Hurry

By RICHARD L. BERKE

Published: October 13, 1995

EASTON, Pa., Oct. 8—
Tom and Evelyn Dinan stood in a drizzle outside this city's Center Square the other day trading names of prospective Presidents. But like many other voters here, they were more certain of whom they did not want in the White House than whom they wanted.

"Certainly not Dole," said Mrs. Dinan, who, like her husband, is a Democrat who sometimes backs Republicans. She thrust both hands out as if she were trying to stop Senator Bob Dole, who leads in the polls for the Republican nomination. "I just can't stand Dole."

Yet the Dinans looked just as pained at the mention of President Clinton. Mr. Dinan, a 73-year-old retired construction worker, suggested a third-party candidate, as long as it was not Ross Perot or Gen. Colin L. Powell.

Finally, he came up with a name: "I'll vote for Harry Truman. Where's Harry Truman?" The 75-year-old Mrs. Dinan concurred, saying, "That's what we need."

The Republican Presidential competition is in full tilt in Iowa and New Hampshire. Mr. Clinton has amassed millions for his re-election drive. Mr. Perot is hurriedly putting together a third party as he mulls over running himself. And General Powell, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is basking in the will-he-or-won't-he speculation.

But in this once-thriving industrial city of 27,000 in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, now best known as the home of the former heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes, voters are only beginning to sort through their choices for President.

In dozens of random interviews, Easton residents did not sound particularly thrilled with their options. Not one voter said he or she had decided to back one of the major Republican candidates; in fact, most said they were not sure who was in the race and who was out. And even those who have closely followed the parade of candidates and would-be candidates insisted that they had not settled on a favorite and were in no rush to do so.

Nestled among hills and ridges at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, this city was heavily Democratic in its industrial glory days, when the steel mills were dominant and the city's factories were in full force, cranking out Crayola crayons and Dixie cups. As Easton has struggled to diversify its economy by attracting new businesses, its partisan makeup has also grown more mixed. Voters in the 15th Congressional District, which extends beyond Easton to the larger cities of Allentown and Bethlehem, backed George Bush for President in 1988, then Bill Clinton four years later.

Nowadays, many voters here say they are not wedded to one party or another. And they hardly seem wedded to any candidate.

Lee Clewell, 38, who works in the Crayola factory, said that he usually voted Republican but that none of the contenders struck him particularly favorably. Asked about Mr. Dole, he said he would vote for him only as a last resort.

"When you mention that name," Mr. Clewell said, "it sends chills up my spine." But he could not cite any specific concerns about Mr. Dole, saying "just the way he presents himself -- that turns me off."

Mr. Clewell said that Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is not running but has not completely closed the door on a bid, "is pretty much all Republicans have going for them right now."

But several other voters, including some Republicans, registered doubts about Mr. Gingrich, particularly over whether he was Presidential timber.

Adolf Klova, a 63-year-old semi retired advertising executive, said he was pleased to see Republicans controlling Congress, explaining that Mr. Gingrich "lends balance where there never has been any before."

That said, Mr. Klova does not want the Speaker to run for President. "He's a little quirky in some cases," the executive said. "I could never see him as President, he's too erratic."

But then Mr. Klova put down the Republican contenders one by one, saying, "We need someone with new thoughts and new ideas."

As for another noncandidate, General Powell, voters here were not as infatuated with him as might have been expected given that thousands of Americans have been lining up to buy copies of his memoirs.

While die-hard backers said they would vote for General Powell no matter whether he ran as an independent or a Republican, others vowed never to support him..

Virginia Taylor, a 33-year-old housewife who backed President Bush in 1992, said she hoped that General Powell, who is retired, ran as a Republican. She said she would favor him by far over the current field.

"He gives heroism back to America," Mrs. Taylor said. "He's done a job and proven he can do a job." If General Powell runs as in independent next year, she said she would still vote for him.

Mrs. Taylor offered a "dream ticket": Powell-Perot. "Powell's stability would help to balance Perot," she said.

Such a ticket was also suggested by a handful of other Easton residents, including Julio Rivera, 23, who voted for Mr. Clinton in 1992.

"Colin Powell can be the President and Ross Perot can be the Vice President," said Mr. Rivera, a nursing home aide. "Ross Perot can give him ideas about the economy. And Powell knows the ins and outs of Washington, D.C. But I don't know if he'll ever get elected being the first black guy."

Several white voters said they hoped General Powell would run to help smooth racial divisions -- rubbed particularly raw in the aftermath of O.J. Simpson's acquittal on murder charges. "I'd love to see the guy get in," said Al Manazer, 62, who runs the Easton Bus Terminal. "He's been a military man. A career man. He might be able to do something with this racist thing."

But a block away, Larry Kinchen, a 42-year-old black foundry worker, said he would stick with Mr. Clinton even though he thought the President had let down the poor and elderly.

Gerald Stern, 70, a poet, also prefers Mr. Clinton, but for different reasons. "What is it with America that we're in love with a military person?" he asked. "Is what's attractive about him that he's an enigma? Are we going to vote for another puzzle?"

Mr. Stern said it was only with great reluctance that he expected to vote again for Mr. Clinton. "What troubles me about Clinton is what makes him successful," he said. "An extraordinary politician is one who can change his position in an instant and pretend he's always had it."

The media saturation about General Powell has apparently not touched everyone here. The name drew several blank stares.

"Don't know of him," said Samuel Nutall, 25, a crane operator. Explaining that he voted for Ross Perot in 1992, and wants to do so again next year, Mr. Nutall said: "He made himself a billionaire. And I like the way he speaks."

But mostly, the mention of Mr. Perot was greeted with snickers. "He wants attention, a little bit of love," Mr. Stern said.

Jim Vones, 76, a landlord who voted for Mr. Perot in 1992, said he was not eager to do so again. "Perot knows how to make money," Mr. Vones said. "But what good does that do you? When you get in there, you make more money."

Having soured on the candidates now running, Mr. Vones also put in a plug for an old favorite.

"You know what you need?" he asked. "You need a farmer with some good common sense. A guy like Harry Truman."